The Wizard King: Crono's Reign
by Brandon1
Summary: An expansion on the ending of CT where Crono becomes the new Magus. (Postponed until the next time I sit around and play CT . . . Hey, FFC is out soon. Hm.)
1. Crono's Reign

Author's Notes: This is just a quick little something I whipped up after playing CT for a few days, and going for all the endings. This is based on the one that you get if you beat Lavos after "The Mystic Village", in which Crono rules 600 AD as the Wizard King. I use a few ideas (frequent magic use can lead to insanity, if you're taking it from an impure source) for other stories, but I tried to stay true to the game.  
  
Crono laughed. He had forgotten why he was laughing. He stopped laughing for a moment to stare ahead.  
  
Oh, yes. The little blue haired boy with the sword, shield, and Hero's Medal.  
  
He resumed laughing. A small boy was challenging him, the Wizard King. He probably didn't even have the Masamune, and if he did . . . No matter.  
  
His power filled the chamber, knocking the child down the stairs. Lucca and Marle, to either side, were also effected by the powerful magic. He had lost his ability to actually focus his powers . . . Ah, yes. When he had evicted Magus from this little domain. It was the quite useful - the troops, the furnishings . . . He had even found a little spot which contained power to expand his beyond his normal Lightning powers, at the top of the palace.  
  
It had been . . . A year ago? He had forgotten.  
  
Lucca, Marle, and himself had come to defeat Magus - the frog was unwilling to help - and the freak had been preparing for some kind of spell. A force, which Crono could now identify as the Black Wind, had filled a chamber, and when Crono had used Luminaire to destroy the wizard . . . The power seemed to flow into him.  
  
He had fallen to the ground screaming - what a wonderful experience, he now remarked. All that power! - And Lucca and Marle rushed to his side. He had gotten to his feet, gasping for air - such overwhelming power! - and came down to the throne room. They followed, afraid.  
  
Those three freaks - useless, compared to him. But the mystics followed Ozzie . . . - had pledged to serve him, and Lucca and Marle . . . The fools had thought to oppose him! He had since then destroyed their minds. Perhaps destroyed was not the right word . . . He had simply persuaded them to follow them.  
  
Magical persuasion, but persuasion none the less.  
  
He used Lucca as another wizard. A weak one, but that didn't matter. Her knowledge and power worked themselves into the most divine - or perhaps unholy? Crono laughed again. Wait, he had never stopped laughing . . . - plans, almost overnight. The other girl . . . He had to think. He hadn't needed to address her, truly. She had only one function for him. Marle, yes, that was the blonde's name. Marle was useful as a diplomat, but that was only a secondary function, if that.  
  
The child cried. He was still alive?  
  
Crono strode forward, summoning more power, and he heard the feet scampering as the child ran forward, trying to stick him with some sword. He waved a hand, his powers shattering the blade, and grabbed the runt by the throat.  
  
"Lucca. The Gate Key." He had a wonderful idea. Time to send the runt on a voyage . . . The Old Man - So kind in giving him these powers! - Could do with a visitor.  
  
The scientist quickly reached into a pocket and removed the key, running forward and putting it into Crono's free hand, falling back with bows, and praises. Crono dismissed them, and opened himself into the Black Wind . . . Running magic through the Gate Key, he opened up a child sized rift a few feet away. Into the rift, he threw the boy. And, accidentally, he let the Gate Key go. The vortex swept up the small metal bit, and it was flung after the boy.  
  
  
Tata screamed. Not the playful screaming as the children made when that odd frog creature came through town, and the children ran away. A horrid sound, like a soul being ripped out. Only he wasn't dead - was he? Was this Hell, a place he was sent to for stealing the Hero's Medal? He couldn't answer himself, and he plunged into nothingness. . .  
  
Until he hit a very hard stone floor. "Oof," was the only noise he had created.  
  
"Well, well. Another lost time travelers," and aged, yet care free, voice responded.  
  
Tata stood up, and oofed again as something hard and metal hit his head.  
  
Tata picked it up - It was a key of some sort. He looked around for the source of the voice, tears in his eyes. He wasn't sure where he was, but he figured he was a long way away from his home, his daddy, and the odd frog person he had stolen the medal from.  
  
He saw some old man leaning against a light post, which was the only source of light, except for the glowing water in a bucked and the seeming field of lights that was outside of the gate. Right now, Tata wouldn't step out of this minor sanctuary if Magus himself were after him. Or, Crono now . . .  
  
He looked at the old man. "Ah . . . Where am I?"  
  
The man looked up, and blinked. "Why, you're in the End of Time. I'm amazed you made it here by yourself. There must be some great things going on. Perhaps related to half the timeline suddenly turning into grape Jell-O a year ago."  
  
Of course, that wasn't what he said. Time had an odd trick to play on people. Anyone who passed through the End of Time was changed. They could understand anyone, and communicate with anyone. Just so long as it was some form of language. It made time traveling very much more convenient, yet the old man had yet to figure out what exactly caused this to happen. Probably something having to do with that odd Nu in his back yard . . .  
  
But, anyone who had entered the area of least time resistance could understand words from another human. Of course, many changes were made. The old man had actually said "Grape bizglnorp", which had been a confectionery delight in the Dark Ages, and had later been rediscovered in Crono's (main) time, only called Jell-O.  
  
Tata looked at him. "I'm lost, aren't I."  
  
The old man sighed. Most of his visitors had either run off screaming by this point - Jumping off the bridge was the preferred way - or accepted this all and asked "So, which pillar of light goes when and where?" like that kid with the cool hair.  
  
"Yes, very. Go up, and to the upper right pillar of light." The door in the back unlocked suddenly. "That should be where you're from." And it was also the border of the time . . . The old man tried to think for a term to describe it. In the end, he simply made one up.  
  
"When you get there, go see about the Time Replacement . . . A hero or something should be doing something that he isn't, or such things."  
  
Of course, thanks to the magic of the End of Time, it got translated as . . .  
  
"When you get there, go see about the Horrendous Time Boo-Boo . . . A hero or something should be doing something that he isn't, or such things."  
  
Tata blinked, and ran away, to the pillar.  
  
A hero? Maybe the frog man, then! He thought as he was sent back to his own time.  
  
  
Ending Notes:  
That was kind of . . . Well, not necessary over all. But I had fun writing it (Think I slipped into Douglas Adams mode. . . Basically, the deal with continuations is this.  
I want one review or e-mail. Then I'll work on it. How's that work for you all?  



	2. The Hero

Note: This one is a tad shorter than the last one, I think. Or, at least, there appears to be less content in it. Maybe I'm being paranoid. And, another thing. I don't claim to get Frog's accent right. I'm simply pulling memories of CT and the Dragon Warrior games. Expect a few discrepancies.  
  
  
Tata was screaming again, for the third time in . . . He had forgotten how long. The odd, glowing void around him continued to give him an unusual state of fear, glowing rods of space/time both beautiful and terrifying.  
  
Mostly terrifying, he realized, as the Gate spewed him out into the Canyon in 600 AD. He wasn't aware of anything having to do with time travel. He just knew it was familiar, and there wasn't something trying to kill him. Some food would have given it a perfect three out of three, but no sense in being greedy.  
  
He got to his feet, hoping he would stop his shivering by the time he got into the village. He set out, sneaking around the imps and other monsters lurking around the area.  
  
He reached the town about noon. Whither it was noon on the same day he had entered Magus' castle . . . Or some other noon, days, weeks, years alter, he couldn't tell. Nor did he care. He began to run through the town, earning rude remarks, and a few threats, from the adults and older children. But, that was unimportant. What was important was getting these . . . things back to that frogman. Then turning himself to his father for the grounding of a lifetime.  
  
After these lovely events, Tata didn't want to leave the house for a while.  
  
  
"'Tis a shame, when a city turns away one of thy citizens . . ." Frog thought this was ridiculous. He was going to have to walk to Dabino, and perhaps Truce, to get supplies. Luckily the bridge was free now. He had heard stories that Crono had beaten back Magus's troops . . . Before whatever was happening now started happening.  
  
The common person didn't know much about the oddness going on, Crono's reign of terror, and Frog remained in his forest hideaway for the most part. All he knew was that the boy had gone to fight Magus, and was changed.  
  
Frog couldn't believe the lad had turned to evil. Perhaps the foul enchanter was taking over the boy, or some foul deed. Frog had entertained the thought of rushing forward and confronting Crono, and finding out what happened. However, Frog was out of it. He would fight no more wars, his disgrace now complete.  
  
"My friends are gone, and Crono doth betray the world. 'Tis a sad state of affairs," the Squire-Turned-Frog-Turned-Frog-Knight mused to himself. "Cyrus, thy death happened in vein. Perhaps, some day, a brave Knight of the Square Table will vanquish the dark wizard once and for all, in thy name. I'm not worthy . . ." Frog let his depression slide off of him, and continued his hike. This had once been a lovely forest, he remembered. The war was waging its toll against everyone, not just Guardia's soldiers.  
  
The would-be hero sighed. He didn't feel like undergoing another case of rejection. He decided to head straight through the bridge, and to Truce, where at least a few people knew him.  
  
It was late when he reached the midpoint of the bridge. The sun had sat, and he could only see one figure walking across the bridge.  
  
The figure gasped, and dropped to his knees. Frog ran over to the small form. "Art thou all right? Thee must be exhausted." Frog got his first look at the figures face.  
  
"Ah! 'Tis thee, the vile thief from the village. Returned to steal some soldiers honor?"  
  
Tata looked up. "No . . . No! I'm . . . sorry." Tata pressed two things into Frog's clammy hands.  
  
"Some . . . Old man said to look for a hero who wasn't . . . Doing what he was supposed to be. I'm sorry for stealing them." The boy got back to his feet, and started walking across the bridge. Frog stood there, blinking, until he noticed what he was now carrying.  
  
"The Hero's Medal! And some key . . ." Frog frowned. What did this portend?  
  
  



	3. A Hero's Reflection

Author's Notes: Reworked the titles a bit. And, expect some major thee thou butchery ahead. Hey, if any of you keeping up would like to do me a favor, give me some feed back on if you want Frog traipsing through time and basically having an alternate form of the game, or the short, painless, and ultimately quicker "Get sword, kill wizard" ending.  
  
Frog lifted the broken piece of the Masamune. He supposed, since it was the second half, that it contained the spirit of "Mune", but he wasn't sure. Not that it mattered. The sword was broken, forever. He had asked, well. Everyone for a lead on how to fix it. Nothing.  
  
With a sigh, Frog put the "Mune" under his cloak, in a small sheath probably intended for a dagger. The broken sword fit in there, if a tad tightly. He gathered the rest of his traveling supplies, cramming them into a small, gray bag and tying it to his belt. Basically, it was ration food (bread, water, a tad of cheese and jerky) and some money, as well as his spare equipment. Gloves, and the medal, and a few other things.  
  
Hopping up his stairs, and into the monster filled woods, he let his thoughts drift back to all that had happened. Cyrus saving him, Magus killing Cyrus and cursing himself . . . Magus tainting the young boy.  
  
"Cyrus, Crono. Thy lives shalt not be destroyed in vein." It was a restating of a promise that he had made long ago, and one he intended to keep, now. Only . . . "The Masamune was shattered. And I have no hope of repairing it . . ." Perhaps the boy knew something? Doubtful. If the boy had any true valor, he would have gone on a quest to repair the sacred blade. And, of course, he wouldn't have stolen the Badge in the first place. And he wouldn't have impersonated the Hero.  
  
But . . . Why had he given the Badge back to Frog? And, what was this other thing? It seemed to be a key, but for what door? Magus's fortress? He had never heard of that having a key. He answered his own thought outloud. "Aye, the Wizard is arrogant enough to fight all challengers, and throw caution to the wind." So it probably wasn't a key to that. And it might not be a key at all. Perhaps the urchin knew?  
  
Frog strode off to the village, hoping to be able to actually get inside of it and talk to the lad.  
  
* * *  
  
It never seemed to work out to Frog's plans, really. He had been seen by the village guard - monsters were thick, coming from the haunted forest, and a patrol was around generally all the time - and denied entry. It being night didn't help. Frog had sadly neglected to double check the time.  
  
Once again, however, his curse became a blessing. Of course, this aspect of the curse wouldn't need a blessing if it wasn't for the curse, but lets not get into that.  
  
Frog swam around the shoreline. He vaguely remembered being told by someone that the Hero's house was on the shoreline, with a green roof.  
  
"Ah, there 'tis," the warrior mumbled to himself, and he swam to the house. Swimming with all of his gear on was a good deal of exercise, but luckily, Frog was strong enough to deal with the weight. Pulling himself up onto dry, he wrung out his cape, and looked for the boy.  
  
The lad was chopping wood, an amazing amount. Frog felt reminded that Fiona's woods were gone. It seemed that a good deal of them were to be chopped by the thief. Perhaps there were punishments for the deserving.  
  
With a sigh for what must be done, Frog walked to the lad. The immediate effect was fairly alarming.  
  
Tata dropped the ax, and backed against he wall. "I . . . don't have anything else! I don't want to go back to that creepy . . . Please!"  
  
Frog blinked. "Urchin, I do not come to harass thee. I come seeking knowledge of these artifacts you hath given me. The Hero's Medal I know well enough. But this other device, I know not. From hither did thy get this?"  
  
Tata blinked. "You . . . mean that key?" Frog nodded, and Tata gulped. "It . . . was something Crono used on me. To send me into a . . . I think he called it the End of Time. It's a magic thing . . ."  
  
Tata explained his adventures in Magus's old lair to Frog, who then set out.  
  
Come the morning sun, Frog was marching through the wastes, eyes set on a specific mountain.  
  
"Nary again, Magus! Mine friends shall not be destroyed again!" He proclaimed. The sunrise glinted off of something on his cloak.  
  
The Hero's Medal.  



End file.
